Anyone who played with this toy will also remember the sound it made. Once you slid the power button to the On position, you heard a constant whirring sound of plastic gears turning and twisting. And if you tried to push it past its boundaries, it twitched and protested with a jarring "CLICK … CLICK … CLICK." It wasn't just kids who found the Armatron so special. It was featured on the cover of the November/December 1982 issue of Robotics Age magazine, which noted that the 31.95

Tomy Co. said Tuesday it is gearing up to release its first new lineup of "mecha"-themed animal toys known as Zoids in 12 years. The firm said it plans to market the plastic models through the classic Japanese media-mix formula of anime, manga and video games starting in Japan in April and then moving on to the rest of the world. The 35-year-old toy series allows users to assemble plastic parts to create battery-powered robotic dinosaurs, animals and insects. "Zoids are animal and dinosaur robots. It sounds simple, but we think this is an important factor that captures the hearts of boys around the world," Yutaka Tajima, head of a Tomy division tasked with making toys aimed at the boy demographic, said during a news conference in Tokyo.

An interactive toy that promoters hope will take the world by storm revealed its secret on Thursday after months of speculation. The egg-shaped product, named Umarete Woomo in Japan and Hatchimals in English, is developed by Canada-based Spin Master and hits the market Friday. It made its public appearance earlier this year but not until now has one "hatched." Tomy Co., which sells the product in Japan, showed the magical moment during a preview in Tokyo. What emerged was a fluffy penguin-like toy robot with a hard beak, which it used to crack the egg from inside.